Well, not yet.

I play in home games with a bunch of people who put their money in precious metals because hurr durr alt-right talking points. When asked how I protect my money, I responded, "First by diversifying my investments. Second, by not living in a paranoid fantasy world where the United States' economy is in danger of immediate collapse."

Separately, re keto, dad bod etc…not for Vegas but I’ve found that fasting is a great compliment to keto

I do 17hr fasts 3-4 days per week (7pm til midday) and it’s really helped accelerate and sustain the weight loss and then maintain it since I’ve got to/around the weight I want to be.

I’m sure you would have tried it before but just in case it’s slipped out of a part of the dieting habit? And if you haven’t, once you get used to it, it isn’t debilitating and I actually find it really energising. I can even now manage it after I’ve done early am weights, albeit that is definitely harder

I've never fasted as dictated by the clock. When I cut weight for lifting meets I'd eat so little per meal that it felt like a fast LOL. And I did enjoy that energized feeling once you get used to it. I likened it to what a Spartan may have felt like, or that line from Gladiator "lean and hungry". You really do feel leaned out and like a wolf or a predator.

My wife has done IF on and off for a while with mixed results. Personally, I'm a breakfast kind of guy so if I skip a meal it's going to be lunch. My guess is I skip 4-5 lunches per week. I don't really want to truly do IF though. I figure keto and getting the calories dialed in is enough- the more things I throw on, eventually willpower is going to be like "meh F it eat all the rice".

Oh, as far as the tournament- Wynn covers nothing. I've always been told the tournaments are losers for the casino- 100% of the buy in goes to the prize pool, and then on top of it the Wynn gives free credit, pays employees, provides space etc. They make it up with what the donks like me will lose at the machines or tables. But D and I put up the whole 6500 ourselves.

Just amazing how these TRs never get boring. More thanks to Leon for keeping up with details and pics.

Also super kudos to that bartender who got you the unopened bottle. Very nice

I'm not sure whether the +40K or the unopened bottle is running hotter, casino nonsense sometimes knows no bounds. Amazing start!

Yes, when people ask me about IF I generally also say that it’s a fancy way to say ‘skip breakfast’. Idk if there’s much science in what I do or if it’s just a relatively convenient way to keep calories down but w/e, it seems to work for me

Nice first day and great report. Thanks for sharing.

Day 2

I wake up at my usual early hour. Nothing on the agenda today but gamble, register for the slot tourney and hopefully win even more!

I start off losing at 10 line UX and scale it back. Obv pick up dealt quads number 2 soon after.



Meh.

Step back up to 10 lines.



Give all the profit back, and head to multiline. I get pummeled, and I know I should have stopped earlier, but then the machine rewards my stupidity with dealt quads number 3!



PREMIUM!

Need a good draw here...

Result-


Not bad. Not bad at all.

The really sick part here is I'm up less than 10k for the day despite that hit. So I step up and hope the magic repeats itself, but instead the machine goes stone cold and I give back 1, 2, 4, 6k in no time at all. Mini tilt kicks in and I give back more until... I'm even for the day. WTF. I get up and move back to UX.



Last hit pre-breakfast.

D and I are eating at Tableau. I'm almost embarassed to tell him the result- dealt premiums again, yet we're DOWN 3k for the day!



After breakfast, D and I hit craps, and it's bad, again. Lost several K here. What can I say about this next part? Let's just say this next pic is at nearly 4pm!!!!! So I didn't have anything worth taking a picture of from basically 9am to 4pm. At the rate I play, you know I went through an epic cold patch. I know I took a nap in there somewhere. I know I did everything I could to slow the bleeding down, but I dumped almost 20k back during this period.



Despite the previous photos, I've been running very dry on trip ace draws. Can't convert any at spin or UX which is a sure death sentence if that continues. Of course I can turn one ace into a royal.



OK this was a good one.



Standard "quads on the redraw".

D and I limp into the tournament reg. If I won anything this last session it was maybe a few K. I know I'm down at least 20k for the day for sure, and I'm vaguely worried I may have seen my high point for the trip...



That wheel is the "free gift" for tournament entrants. You get to spin and you receive whatever free credit you land on. D and I both got the bare minimum, obv.

D and I have about an hr before we head to Fountainebleau for dinner. We lose some at spin then move to UX.



OK, finally got a good one at UX.

We head to dinner with a small recovery, stuck just under 20k now.




Before dinner, I status match with FB and get their highest level card. It comes with 250$ food credit, which D and I plan on using at dinner.




Wow. Lots to say about this place. First of all, the restaurant is nice and the decor is great. The "live DJ and club vibe" which the waiter proudly told us about? Yeah, not so into that. He did warn us that it gets louder as the night goes on, so I'll know next time an old fart like me needs to eat at 5pm The food itself was 7-8/10 over all. Most dishes were decent but too sweet. Trying to stay keto was a challenge for sure. D and I way overordered as can be seen, mostly bc we wanted to try different stuff and...

The duck. WOW. Best Peking duck I've had in forever. SO MUCH MEAT- I swear, they must have either had an extra large bird OR they didn't waste any of the meat with those worthless lettuce cups most places give you after. They got every ounce of meat off that carcass. And the legs/wings? Most places don't serve that either- the fattiest, juiciest meat. The crispiest skin. D and I finished about half and it wasn't for lack of trying. 10/10, I will definitely come back here simply for the duck at some point. That dish single-handedly turned what was a pretty standard Vegas meal into a memorable experience.




Heading back from the restaurant. I feel like Rainman, minus the suit and the ability to print money at the tables, obv.




D and I are so full we decide a walk back to Encore is just what we need. I'm wearing jeans and it's freezing in all casinos. The first half of the walk is pleasant, and the second half I'm reminded that it's Vegas in late May. I'm happy when we finally get back to Encore.

OK, what to do? It's 9pm. D decides to play craps. I head to VP and get pummeled. D comes back, he got pummeled too. We remind each other not to lose too much, and then he goes to play craps again. So what do I do? I go on mini-tilt again and lose more than I said I would. I was planning on a 5k post dinner loss, max. Turned it into a 10k loss and it didn't take long either. Disgusted with myself, I head to bed past midnight. Got crushed today and I'm starting to need to rely on the slot tournament for that big win, never a good position to be in.

Oh, D went on tilt too. I found out after he stayed up until about 3am, he almost walked to Resorts World just to change it up it was so bad.

Day 2 result- -30k
Overall- +10k
Dealt quads- 3
5 digit hits- 3

Day 3 coming soon...

oof

Some great food pics!

Now just need to turn it around for the gambol

ooooo love Peking Duck, definitely taking note

I speak for all the thread that we are thrilled you tried a new restaurant for us.

Day 3

OK, today is super important. I'm barely hanging on to a win. We HAVE to bink this slot tourney. I've been running pretty bad in 2024 overall and giving away a 40k day 1 win is not helping.



I move to UX.




This is just infuriating. Nothing fun about this at all. How many times can I draw at 3 aces or 4 to royal and miss, yet this comes in twice? Whatever.

I decide to move to 10 lines and pick up dealt quads number 4!



Boy that's meh.




Meh.

I book a completely break even AM session. I suppose that's better than losing. D and I head to our cabana- plan is to eat breakfast there, and make it our home base going to and from the slot tourney.




Sometimes I forgot how awesome these cabanas are...




Lobster salad, extra eggs.

D and I chill for a bit, and soon enough it's time for our first rounds.



Let's do this!



First round result for me. Total mediocrity.

Despite our request to NOT be in the same round, of course they put D and I in the same round. So we can't even sweat each other's play and maximize the expectation. I checked in with D, he had a decent first round but not great. For me, it's the same old BS. Open like crap, so there's no fun of thinking "just need one more great one", but instead it's the ever-dwindling hope of, "well, maybe NEXT round will be good.." and it just gets shttier from there.

All three of my rounds are garbage. Unless I bink the rebuy, I'm taking the bare minimum. What's worse, D also had 2 sht rds. So, same comments for him. SO, SO unfun.

We head back to the cabana pretty dejected. We do the responsible thing and chill for hours, I think we played poolside craps just to change it up which was ok but still a loser. Stayed away from VP which I'm proud of. Eventually we head back for the rebuy rounds.

And... mine is garbage. Of course. Bare min. D surprise surprise doesn't bink. His re buy is also decent, maybe he's got a shot a something more than the bare min (maybe 2.5k free credit)? Well, that was "fun". God, why do I keep paying for these things so someone else can make a massive score?

We head back to the cabana to close the day out. Looks like we've got to survive the rest of this trip on our own. Just gotta make a nice score somewhere here!

Eventually, of course, we find ourselves back at a VP machine.



God, finally convert a trip ace draw, but where's the kicker??!

Dealt quads number 5!!



What a slap in the face, obv. Losing at 10 lines so I move down to 5 and of course LOL regular quads, zero multipliers. F this game. F this machine.

We lose, slowly but surely. Time for dinner at Casa Playa. We're basically even for the trip, which means we lost 10k so far today. No slot tourney bink. We're in danger territory here folks. The one silver lining is we check our free credit. I've got the bare min 1.5k as expected. D has... 5k?! Whoa, so that means he skipped over the 2.5k mark, and technically he's top 11-20? Who knew?

Casa Playa



That meat/seafood platter is enough food for 4 people FYI. Everything 6-7/10, if I knew the platter had the same shrimp as the appetizer I would have gotten a different appetizer. This place is ok but it gets old fast, a lot of the same flavors in many of the dishes.

It's time to play off that free credit and see where we stand!



D's free credit. 5k + 500 for early sign up + 500 for gift. I think we took 4k from the 5k, so I've got 50% of that.



My 1250 start.



End. Basically 100% conversion which is good obv... it's just not enough.





Jesus meh meh meh. How about following up with dealt quads?




OK that's better.



So we limp until about midnight. I keep playing, hoping against hope that I'll finally have a good last night. I know I've had them but it's been years since I can remember a great Sat night. Most of them have been like this one, not good from a gambling perspective, I get progressively more and more tired and annoyed at the Sat night crowd. I think I finally give back every cent I tried to preserve and force myself to go to bed. Angry, tired, and I get to fight my way through a massive crowd by the bar by my elevators as a finale.

Sometimes I hate this place. I ALWAYS hate this place on Sat nights when they suck, which is seemingly always these days.

Day 3 result- -10k
Overall- even
Dealt quads- 5
5 digit hits- 3

Conclusion coming soon...

Thank you for taking all the time to post your trip reports. It's great to ride the highs and lows of your roller coaster that we all experience. I too am an avid vp player. One question for you - do you ever consider holding the 5th card for non-premium quads? I do bcz my concern is a malfunction where a duplicate card could be dealt thereby voiding the hand. I don't know if that's even possible but i never wanna take the chance

I've been involved in this discussion many times in the past, usually as a passive reader. Someone said something one time that stuck with me- basically, "stop focusing on something that is so unlikely to happen and spend time on something more meaningful, like studying the game, thinking of ways to make more money, maximize comps, etc. You're worrying about the ultra-rare dealt quads, chip malfunction, void payout super parlay that as far as anyone knows is a theoretical concern only". I tend to agree with that.

To answer your question more fully, if that's a concern for anyone, then by all means go ahead and hold the 5th. It's not wrong obv. I just don't think it matters. If anyone can provide proof of a modern VP machine malfunctioning in such a way I'd love to see it.

I actually think it's MORE likely holding the 5th card is going to generate an unforeseen problem, by some order of magnitude. Eg, someone goes to hold the unnecessary 5th card and they unhold one of the quad cards. Or, there's a minor electrical short between the buttons (which, after all, are just little pieces of plastic and wiring that get pushed 1000s of times a day) and someone does hit the right button, but it unholds a different card anyways. I think either of those scenarios are unlikely, but still WAY MORE LIKELY than the chip malfunction scenario. Just me.

^^^ thank you for your detailed response and theory. interesting how we all have our own quirks and habits. we know the buttons can fail at any given moment. so whenever i'm holding all cards, i swipe my finger from left to right on the touch screen to ensure there's no such failure. and as i do, i'm sure when you have a monster, you also double- or even triple-check to ensure the right cards are being held. thanks again for bringing us along on your journey

Yeah the quirks are funny. When I run bad and it deals me one ace for the 20th time in a row I will smash the button and hold/unhold the one ace 50 times, before finally holding it and drawing. Actually I don't do that bc I think it'll help I just do it bc I'm mad as hell

I never use the screen for the same reason you avoid the buttons- I've seen the screen fail many, many times. Certainly easier for me to get a visual and physical confirmation I've held a card using the button vs the screen, that's for sure. And triple checking? That's just being safe and responsible. Only reason not to do it every hand? Most hands are utter garbage and it literally doesn't matter lol

That’s EXACTLY what happened to me at Aria if you remember my TR from 1.5 years ago or so. I was dealt 55554 on one line $5 stake for a hand pay. Held all five cards but one of the buttons was sticky (later tested by slots manager who couldn’t find a problem obviously) and it unheld a 5 and I missed out on the hand pay. So I accidentally unheld one card and screwed up my hand. Not sure if it would have changed if I only hold the four 5s, guess we’ll never know.

Leon Sunday advance posting: "...so since I was running so poorly all weekend after my amazing day 1 I just had breakfast and went to the airport to catch an earlier flight instead of trying to chase a win..."

Final day

Days like this always fill me with dread. It's like I just showed up in the sense I'm dead even. IF I had just showed up, I'd be super excited to play and wouldn't sweat a loss whatsoever. However, having had my shots and hit lots of stuff, I feel like I've used up all my chances at a win. I'm probably going to go home stuck, and I'm going to be upset.

That being said, let's try and coast into the finish line and see what happens.

I start at UX and lose. Move to spin and lose. Move to multi line and lose. I figure I'm down about 10k when I see dealt quads number 6!



Finally!!!! Premiums again!

Before the kicker draw, I remind myself that I wasted my 17k hit just a few days ago. Somehow, I've picked up dealt premiums on this machine again. I'm not wasting this one, no matter what.

Result-


Saved. Exact same amount as last time, not a bad draw at all.

I keep going and give some back, then move to an old school machine and try and slow it down.



D and I are eating at Terrace Pointe Cafe. I only booked this to change it up a bit. In general this place is not as good as Tableau or Jardin. I'm going to get something a little different just to see if it's worth it. If today isn't great, I'm going to lay off this place for a while again.



I go with the BBQ brisket benedict. It sounds better than it was. It wasn't bad but the sauce was (predictably) too sweet. 7/10.

After breakfast, D and I hit craps and shocking, it's bad again. I think I'm even for the trip now. Back to VP- pleasepleaseplease be good!



Just coasting and giving a little back, then dealt quads number 7!



ARGH NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR MEH!

Of course that's not enough. We lose in hi limit and I head over to spin for one last try.



This is the only hit. D and I keep going for a while but at some point we're down 10k again. I can't stand this. We've got an early afternoon flight, let's call it and grab some lunch. I suppose I can live with that. Once D and I settle up and I pay him his share, it turns out I'm actually down 12k. Bleh. We go to Red 8.



I know I keep grabbing the seabass here, but I just can't help myself. SO GOOD.

Day 4 result- -12k
Overall- -12k
dealt quads- 7

Conclusion and postscript

As can probably be seen, this trip was not very fun for me. I can't believe I was dealt quads 7 times, 3 premiums, and once with a kicker, and STILL LOST!!! There is clearly too much money being dumped back. If I look back at my play (more on this later), the results speak for themselves. Way too many "3k at UX, 3k at spin, 3k at multiline, oh look I'm down almost 10k" sessions. I've never been good at cutting things off earlier, got a little better for a while, and have started slipping again. I've got to be better about locking in small wins.

Clearly, this was just another busted slot tournament which comes with its own disappointment as well. D and I were really looking forward to this one, and even though we knew the likely outcome was nothing, this was the first time for us we had 50% of each other... no good.

Finally... after the trip I asked my host's assistant to give the final bill. She asks me how I'd like to cover the cabana- room charge or comp dollars (different than host comp). Wait. That's not a good question- I thought the cabana was comped!

After a ton of back and forth which extended into the week after my trip, I finally figure out what is going on. The Wynn will NOT be comping the cabana. I spoke with my host and obv was very upset- my understanding was I could always get a cabana upfront, no questions asked. Guess what, the Wynn is continuing to scale back comps, and my host can't give me anything upfront- "he needs to look at my play after". I haven't scaled back my play, but apparently I'm not getting a cabana this time.

Super pissed, I decide to use comp dollars. I contact my host's assistant (amazing person, wish SHE was a host) to let her know. Here's the thing- I have a family trip with B's family lined up for June. It's going to be a big trip- 2 2bd suites, multiple limo rides, cabana, etc. All previously approved by host. So assistant says "I just want to let you know the second 2bd room is NOT being comped". WTF!!!!!

OK, how much are the rooms? Maybe this is doable. 3k a NIGHT?!?! Are you F'ing kidding me- this is a family that probably wouldn't pay 300 a night. The Wynn is absolutely outrageous if you pay retail. I'm PISSED. Lots of runaround from the host, but finally- same answer. They're cutting back comps, they can't guarantee anything up front, despite me asking MULTIPLE TIMES if this would be comped he IMPLIED yes but technically never said yes, he said "sure I'll book it". They can't cover all the limos we'll need. Cabana we already know what might happen. My friends' trip just got changed a TON- and they've already bought plane tickets, booked their nanny etc.

FFFFFFFFFFF

So... I hate the Wynn so much at this point. I hate my host. He's so frickin' vague and almost purposefully obtuse when it suits his purposes. I look at my work schedule (completely unrelated) and see- I have two 4 day breaks in a row coming up! Meaning, off 4 days, work one day, off another 4 days. So weird but the computer schedule does weird things sometimes. Then, I get murdered in June, until the family trip (which is now totally messed up). Meanwhile, I need revenge on the Wynn after this trip...

I'm coming back. 2 weeks after the slot tournament (this second trip just happened FYI). I arrange a trip 5/30-6/2. Goals- talk to host and make sure he knows I'm ready to leave the Wynn. I manage to twist D's arm to go YET AGAIN so hopefully we can have some fun too. And of course, the main goal is GET REVENGE ON THE WYNN. So, the second part of this two trip TR will be up soon!

Oh BTW, obv I have been talking with a host at Fountainbleau as well, since I might be moving over there... that's TBD as well.

Thanks for reading and to be continued...

Really enjoyed that read.

Best of luck with the host scenario.
Vague bastards gonna vague

Yeah, best of luck with the hosts, leon. It is, unfortunately, a transactional world often.

Thanks for the report Leon. Agree it might be time to shop your play around.

I had the exact same thing happen to me at MGM Rewards but obviously on a way smaller scale. I logged in this week and my comps are slashed which is absolutely outrageous as my coin-in was high last trip and on top of that I had multiple 8-10 hours of blackjack at $100-$600 a hand for two full weeks. I should have seen my rates go up a lot based off my theo, and now they are the worst I have ever seen since I started going 7-8 years ago.

Sad to say that Vegas seems to be changing. It’s not that I can’t afford 2-3 trips a year from Europe, but with these rates it’s just not worth it so from now I’ll just go once a year and hop hotels to maximise the little comps I have left like crazy.

I don't think giving them more action is Revenge.